Mean Green Has Strong First Meet at Texas Tech Invite

LUBBOCK, Texas (1/19/08) ? The North Texas track and field team opened its indoor season with six first place finishes at the Texas Tech Indoor Invitational.

LUBBOCK, Texas (1/19/08) The North Texas track and field team opened its indoor season with four first place finishes at the Texas Tech Indoor Invitational.

Brandi Stanfield and Toby Edwards picked up where they left off last season. Stanfield, a junior from Austin, Texas, took first in the triple jump with a leap of 40-00.50; a foot better than her performance last season in her first meet. She also tied for first in the long jump during Friday's field events.

Edwards, the school record holder and conference indoor champion in the high jump, picked up a first place finish in the high jump. He cleared 6-10.25, nearly two feet better than second place finisher Justin Turner from Texas Tech.

“I thought this was a great first meet for us,” said head coach Rick Watkins. “We had some runners come out with some fast first marks which close to the times that they ended last season with.”

Shayla Hart, Chrystal Mitchell, Ciara Smith and Chi Chi Echebelem teamed up in the 4X400 relay to finish first with a time of 3:47.95. Smith, a sophomore from Round Rock, beat out 23 other runners in the 200-meter dash to finish first. Alana Tyler also took home first in the weight throw for the Mean Green.

The Mean Green track team will be back in action this coming weekend when they travel to Fayetteville, Ark. to compete at the Razorback Invitational.